Magic
by Random Colors
Summary: Years undercover in Mr. Gold's shop has been tiring but The Savior has finally come to Storybrook. Things are about to change for Temnen and the rest of Storybrook. WILL BE REMOVED SOON, NOW CHAPTER THREE OF, Not Everything Changes.


Magic

It had been 28 years since she felt it, the feeling of magic.

28 years ago she felt the strong burst of magic for just a moment while she wandered the woods of Canada. It must have been hundreds of miles away, but she would never forget that feeling. Too quickly it died out and she was left with a bitter taste in her mouth. They say you never miss something more then when you lose it but they were wrong, it wasn't until you found it and lost it a second time that you truly begin to miss it.

It had taken her years of wondering and still she had no clue where the magic had come from. 18 years of running and flying, looking and searching, yet she found nothing. Until one day a fat gray pigeon landed on a bench next to her, a note had been tied to its leg.

'Storybrook, Maine, USA - B'

Maine was close, only a few states away. It didn't show up on any map, but a small article about a missing father came up on a internet search. A boy had lost his father during a camping trip in Maine, but the boy swore his father had been kidnapped and held in fictional town called Storybrook, 18 years ago. It was too strange to be a coincidence, so she had made she way there as quickly as she could.

Hours of flying and she finally made it. A small town in the forest of Maine. Taking the form of a cat, she strolled down the street, silently thankful when she found the one man she figured could tell her what was going on. Rumpelstiltskin. She had followed him for days watching and waiting for him to notice her, but he hardly glanced at her. When she realized no one in the town knew who they really were she knew she had to stay and do something. It took weeks for this new Rumpelstiltskin, Mr. Gold to notice her and warm up to her, but she finally found a place to stay in his pawn shop.

She did the jobs any working cat would do, catch unwelcome critters around the store, keep a close eye on any visitors, though they were few and far between, and most importantly she watched the town. Waiting. 10 years of waiting for the curse to break. 10 years of being called Cat by Mr. Gold. 10 years of visiting the one anomaly in town other then herself. A boy named Henry Mills. She followed him everywhere when she could. Until the day he left town in search of his mother, the Savior.

That was 2 days ago, and as she sat on the sidewalk outside the shop, waiting for Mr. Gold to come back from collecting rent from Granny, she watched the hands on the clock tower finally move. Things would be changing around here. Starting with her work relationship with her boss. Temnen let out a loud rumbling purr as Mr. Gold stepped up to the door of his shop. With a quick glance down at her, he opened the door and stepped in. She was quick to follow, if she wasn't in when he went to close it he would leave her outside. Mr. Gold did not care for the niceties of owning a cat. She had food and water and that was enough for him.

Her mismatched eyes stood out brightly against the black of her fur while she watched him from her seat next to the front door. He had gotten to the doorway of the back room, his office, before he turned to wait for her. "Come along Temnen, we have much to discuss."

She let out an pleased meow and rubbed against his good leg as she passed him into the back, finally changing back into a human after all these years once she was safely out of view of the street. "I hope you know you are a horrible cat owner Gold. I mean really, leave a poor defenseless cat out in the cold all night. I hardly got any attention from you, I practically had to whore myself out to the rest of the town for anyone to scratch behind my ears, it's a disgrace." Hands on her hips and a pout on her lips, Temnen turned around and watched as Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes and glared at her.

"You are hardly defenseless my dear. And you know you would have had more luck as a dog, so stop complaining."

"True. So I take it you had Regina cast the curse and this is where it got you, and you added a loophole to get your memories back when The Savior finally came?" Temnen stretched and flexed all her muscles as she spoke, glad to be back in her human body after so long.

Mr. Gold sat at his desk and watched his ward get used to her own body once more. "Of course. Everything according to plan so far. It will only be a matter of time before the curse is broken and everyone remembers, then I will bring magic back and go find my son. The real question is, how are you here dearie? You should have died years ago, yet you look only slightly older then when you left." Her blond hair had been resting on her shoulders in light waves decades ago when he saw her off, and now was clear down to her waistline. He knew she was prone to slower aging due to her magical nature but not enough to indefinitely halt it for decades.

"About that..." She shifted nervously and picked at her short nails, not quite knowing how to explain to him without him getting angry. "I sorta ended up in... Neverland.. and stayed there for some time.." with a deep breath she closed her eyes and continued. "Baelfire was there." After a long moment of silence to glanced at Rumpelstiltskin, his jaw was clenched and his hands were in tight fists on top of his desk. Before he could explode in rage she quickly rambled out the rest. "I looked after him once I found out it was him. He stayed away from Pan and we found a way off the island. He's back here, in this world again, safe. I promise."

"Where?"

"I don't know, he wont tell me. He knows my connection to you, he ran off soon after we got back here and covered his tracks well. I get messages from him sometimes, but uses pigeons, which have got to be the stupidest birds I have ever met. They hardly know where they are much less where they came from. Its been impossible to track them back to him. But he's safe."

With a few deep breaths he stood up and paced the small space in the room. After a few laps he turned to her and spoke calmly. "Then nothing has changed, once Miss. Swan breaks the curse and I bring magic to this sorry little town, I will go find Bae. All that matters is he is safe and within reach." He sent her a knowing look. "And you would do well to search for your darling cut-purse once he remembers who he really is. Though he has changed in the years you've been gone, so be careful."

"Rumpelstiltskin, are you worried about my love life?"

"Hardly my dear, you're an absolute menace when you're in a bad mood, I cant have that if you are to continue to work for me."

"And what will doing now that you know its me? Before I just took it upon myself to keep an eye on the shop. Watch people when they came in, see what they were looking at and what their intent might be."

"And the hunting?"

"Instinct mostly. I probably would have done it even if it wasn't, just for fun really."

Mr. Gold chuckled and sat back down at his desk, pulling out some paperwork. "Feel free to continue with whatever you want. Until the curse breaks I have no need for assistance around the shop. It would cause quite a stir if a stranger were to suddenly show up and start working for me as well. Enjoy your feline freedoms while you can, no doubt things will get quite busy soon enough."

"Fair enough." Bending down and placing a quick kiss to his cheek, she laughed at his disgruntled face and changed back into a cat as she left the back room intent on lounging in her favorite spot by the heater.


End file.
